Sunday 13 November 2011

GC, Day 13 - Ethereal light


(http://visitscotland.com)


One of the many things I've loved about moving further north - heaven knows I haven't gotten proper winters, with the Gulf Stream - is the ethereal autumn and winter light. Even many an autumn later, my heart sings at the first sign of the mellowing of the light in late August.

At first, in late August, it is just a softening from the sharp yellow of summer to a warmer gold. Then one day in September, I'm walking into work, look down the road, and my breath is taken away by a glow that promises entry into the world of the Sidhe. Oxford has this odd sense of being at the crossroads of many times; I've often felt that if I turned a certain way, I'd find myself back in the 17th century - and the autumn/winter light just enhances that by adding the tantalising prospect of entering another dimension.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I whisper a prayer of gratitude every time I catch that glow, more ethereal as autumn brings us to winter. By mid-October, one could actually be in the land of the Sidhe.

Just one step off the well-travelled path...

(http://www.equinoxshard.com/ms/woe/races/sidhe.php)

2 comments:

CEAD said...

This was one of my favourite things about Oxford, too. I miss it.

Ari.xx

Anonymous said...

I agree with you about autumn/fall. The colours are part of what I love about it, although I also enjoy the scents/smells of autumn too. Quite my best fall was spent (partly) in rural Minnesota, where the fall colours were to die for.